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Archduke of Austria-Hungary was killed
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot by Serbian Nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The Archduke and his wife, Sophie, were shot during their motorcade in the streets of Sarajevo. Princip was only able to commit the murder due to a mistake the driver had made. Instead of staying on course, the driver turned the car on the corner when Princip was standing and stopped. Princip belonged to a secretive military named the Black Hand. The act itself made Austria-Hungary declare war on Serbia. -
Beginning of World War I
On July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia for the assassination of the Archduke. Then, secretly, the Ottoman Empire and Germany signed a treaty of alliance. Soon after Germany declared war on France. That August Germany invaded Belgium, causing Britain to declare war on Germany. Due to the alliance between Russia and Serbia, Austria-Hungary invaded Russia on August 10th of 1914. -
The Battle for Alsace-Lorraine
The battle for Alsace-Lorraine was part of the Battle Of The Frontiers. After the Franco-Prussia War, France was forced to give Alsace-Lorraine to German. When World War I began, the French War Plan was to invade Alsace-Lorraine to reclaim it. France ended up having to give up because of the German advance through Belgium via Schliffen Plan. James Sorenson was a soldier during the Alsace-Lorraine battle. -
Lusitania Sinks
Since the United States and Britain were trade partners, many U.S. ships headed to Britain were attacked by German mines. In February of 1915, Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Britain. On May 7, 1915 a German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, a British ocean liner on route from New York. The sinking killed around 1,190 people, 128 of them Americans. The U.S. did not enter the war until about two years later, but the act turned the public opinion against Germany. -
The Battle of Somme
The Battle of Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was one of the biggest battles of World War I. It was fought between July 1st to November 18st of 1916. The battle took place near the upper Somme River in northwest France. The battle raged on until British Commander Chief Sir Douglas Haig called for his army’s offensive to stop. With over 1.5 million casualties between the Central Powers and the Allies the Battle of Somme was considered one of the bloodiest battles on the Western Front. -
The First Tanks
The first use of tanks in battles were the British Mark I tanks at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The tanks were brought in on September 15th of 1916. Many broke down, but about a third made it through. The French fielded their first tanks in April of 1917. While the Allies produced thousands, Germany only produced about 20. The first tanks were slow, clunky, and mechanically unreliable, but offered advantages in trench warfare. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was an internal diplomatic communication from the German Foreign Office in January of 1917. The telegram proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico after the U.S. entered the war. It was then intercepted and decode by the British. The American public opinion was enraged, since the German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann had publicly admitted that the telegram was real. This helped create support for the United States declaration of war on Germany. -
United States Enters War
Despite the United States wanting to remain neutral, the U.S. did join the fighting on April 6th, 1917. Congress authorizes a declaration of war against Germany. The United States entered on the side of the Allies to fight against the Central Powers. After the attacks from German U-Boats and the Zimmermann Telegram, anger towards the Germans grew. Many Americans were in favour of the decision to enter the war because of the ongoing attacks from Germany. -
Germany and Russia sign a peace treaty
On March 3rd of 1918, Germany and Russia signed a treaty. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed between the new Bolshevik government of Soviet Russia and the Central Powers. Due to crushing losses and defeats, the population quickly stopped supporting the war. Russia claimed that they wanted to focus on internal problems, rather than external problems. The treaty ended the fighting with Germany, thus formally ending Russia’s participation in World War I. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood took place from June 1st to 26th in 1918. The battle was located in the Aisne-Marne Sector, northwest of Chateau-Thierry on River Marne. The battle was fought between the U.S. 2nd and 3rd Divisions along with French and British forces against German units. Since the battle itself was unorganized and messy, many soldiers did not know where they were or whom they were fighting. The battle ended up as an Allied Power victory. -
The Aisne-Marne Operation
The Aisne-Marne Operation was a French and American counteroffensive against the German army. In 1918, Germany attempted to knock France out of the war before American troops arrived to aid the French. The effort failed and thousands of American troops came to help with France’s counterassault. James Sorenson fought in the Aisne-Marne Operation in what is believed to be 32nd Infantry Division. -
Chateau Thierry
The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought on July 18th of 1918 as one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Forces under General John Pershing. It was part of the Second Battle of the Marne and another Allied victory. Under the direction of Allied généralissime Ferdinand Foch, the French and American forces between Fontenoy and Château-Thierry counterassaulted German positions. Sorenson had hiked to Chateau-Thierry July 29th with his regiment to aid in the attacks. -
James Sorenson is Gassed
On August 15th of 1918, James Sorenson was gassed during his stay at a place called “Death Valley” just north of Courville. While out cutting poles with a friend, they were spotted and attacked. The two ran for cover to where a doughboy battalion had their foxholes. One mustard gas shell hit behind them, covering them in sores and blisters. He was then transported to a hospital nearby. -
Sorenson is Hospitalized
Sorenson was moved to Orleans Base Hospital due to his mustard gas injuries. He stayed at the hospital from August 21st to September 28th. Around that time he was shuffled from hospital to hospital, but usually resided in the Orleans Base Hospital. He finally returned to his unit the day before the Armisitice. -
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive or Battle of the Argonne Forest, was an important victory for The Allies. It was fought from September 26th of 1918 until November 11th. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was considered one of the largest battles, with 1.2 million American soldiers. James Sorenson fought with 32nd Infantry Division, the first Allied Army unit to break the Hindenburg Line and capture Côte Dame de Marie. -
Germany formally surrenders
Germany was starting to have real problems, imploding economically led to poor equipment for the army and the starvation of the civilian population. In 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm was forced to abdicate, forcing the Germans to surrender. On November 11th, 1918 the Allies and Germany met to sign an armistice. Also known as the Armistice of Compiègne, it was an agreement to end the fighting on the Western Front. It went into effect November 11th, at 11 a.m, marking The Allies victory. -
World War I ends
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed to formally end World War One. It was signed June 28th of 1919, exactly five years after the Archduke assassination. Since the treaty focused on Germany, the Central Powers had signed separate treaties. Thought the armistice ended fighting, it took six months of negotiating at the Paris Peace Conference to settle the peace treaty. It was then registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations the following October, ending the war.
